At 6:34 PM on August 2, 2023, Anchorage police responded to the 500-block of W 4th Avenue regarding a disturbance.  Upon arrival, several citizens pointed out the male suspect to police.  Officers gave the suspect, later identified as 59-year-old Ben J. Latham, commands to drop the pipe he was holding. Latham put the pipe down but refused to comply with any other instructions.  Latham made the statement that he would fight the police.  Once several backup units arrived, officers approached Latham who quickly went to the ground on his own; he was handcuffed without further incident.

Initial indications are that Latham was trying to verbally engage with a ride-share driver who had stopped on the block with clients.  When the driver declined to participate in the conversation, Latham began hitting the vehicle with a pipe in one hand and scissors in the other.  The ride-share driver got out of his vehicle to make Latham stop his behavior.  Latham jumped into the vehicle’s driver’s seat and began pushing buttons, attempting to drive away.  When that didn’t work, Latham demanded the keys from the driver who refused to provide them.  Latham grabbed the driver’s cell phone, exited the car, and began striking the vehicle again.  The ride-share clients were inside the vehicle the entire time; Latham’s behavior put them in fear of being harmed.

Ben Latham was remanded at the Anchorage Jail on the charges of Theft II, Attempted Vehicle Theft I, and six counts of Fear Assault III.  There were no injuries.

APD Case 23-24895

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